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Hands-On With The Amazon Phone — Here Are All The Major Features

Jillian D'Onfro

2014-06-19T02:42:00Z

Amazon Fire Phone Jeff Bezos — Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos at the launch event. Business Insider / Jillian D'Onfro

Amazon's new smartphone, the Fire Phone, hits stores July 25. Preorders started June 18.

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At the phone's launch event, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said that the company tried to build a phone that was extremely innovative and different.

There are some major features that set it apart right off the bat, including its "dynamic perspective" effects, which make images feel 3-D, its motion-sensing capabilities, and Firefly, its visual search engine.

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Amazon shows off its dynamic perspective feature right from the lock screen. When you tilt the phone, you see the balloons from slightly different angles so they feel 3-D.

Amazon Fire Phone

Although you can use any picture you want as a lock screen, the Fire ships with more than a dozen custom images that will take advantage of dynamic perspective.

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The Fire also shows off dynamic perspective working together with its motion sensors in games. To play a game, you can use a combination of phone and head tilts to control the action.

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Generally, tilting the phone to the right or left displays more information. For example, if you're listening to a song, tilting left will bring up its lyrics.

Amazon Fire Phone

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The idea is to make one-handed use easier. You can bring up different menus by tilting the phone in the other direction.

Amazon Fire Phone

You can also see this functionality in the map app. For example, let's say you search for nearby Thai restaurants. At first, you'll just see where they are in relation to you.

Amazon Fire Phone

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But tilting the phone slightly will bring up their names and Yelp info. Tilt back and that information disappears and you're back to an uncluttered view.

Amazon Fire Phone

Firefly is one of the most innovative features on the Fire Phone. Press and hold the camera button on the side of the phone to launch Firefly, which can recognize over 100 million items.

Amazon Fire Phone

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Once an item is recognized, Amazon will pull up information about it. If it's a product, you can be directed to Amazon to buy it. Third-party apps can also build Firefly functionality, like MyFitnessPal, which pulls in calorie information if you scan a food.

Amazon Fire Phone

Firefly also recognizes emails, phone numbers, and URLs from posters or pictures. If Firefly picks up on a website, you can easily navigate to it. Ditto with phone numbers: Firefly will prompt you to make a phone call.

Amazon Fire Phone

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The phone will save a list of all the things you've captured in your Firefly history, so you can refer back later.

Amazon Fire Phone

Firefly can also recognize audio and ID songs. You'll be directed to buy a song on Amazon, but other apps like iHeartRadio and StubHub can give you other options, too, like making a playlist or buying concert tickets.

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Firefly can also recognize TV shows and movies, and hook you up with info about specific clips that you're watching.

Amazon Fire Phone

The Firefly button (which is also the camera if you press it without holding down) is on the side of the device.

Amazon Fire Phone

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Another big feature is the Fire's free, 24-7 video support. Simply press the "Mayday" button to summon a customer service rep, who can draw on your screen to help you through any questions that you have.

Amazon Fire Phone

You can find Mayday, your notifications, and other basic functions with another gesture control that Amazon calls "the swivel."

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All new phone owners get one year of Amazon Prime membership for free.

Amazon Fire Phone

The Fire Phone also has a crisp, 13-megapixel rear-facing camera.

Amazon Fire Phone

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Now, for some history behind the company ...

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14 quirky things you didn't know about Amazon>>

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